iPhone 3G plans start at $48 in the Netherlands, $128 in Denmark

T-Mobile has announced three distinct iPhone 3G plans for the Netherlands starting at $48 USD, meanwhile Telia of Denmark has introduce a single plan for $128 USD that will see a 33 percent reduction after the first six months.

T-Mobile of the Netherlands

Prospective iPhone 3G buyers in the Netherlands will be able to sign up for an entry level calling plan priced at $48 (29.95 euro) on July 11th that includes 150 minutes, 150 SMS messages and unlimited data. Consumers who choose this plan can purchase an 8GB iPhone for $127 (79.95 euro) or a 16GB iPhone for $254 (159.95 euro).

T-Mobile's top tier plan is priced at $103 (64.95 euro) and also offers an 8GB iPhone for $1.58 (1 euro) or a 16GB iPhone for $32 (19.95 euro). It includes 500 minutes, 500 SMS messages and unlimited data.

Each of the plans requires a 24-month contract and $83 (52.50 euro) one-time activation charge. All plans include Visual Voicemail and access to more than 1500 Wifi-hotspots. 3G data is capped at 2048/384 Kbps.

Update: AppleInsider reader Rick notes that T-Mobile, faced with complaints from customers, has just announced a new "promotion" for new iPhone 3G users that cuts the activation fee in half to about $41.50 (26.25 euro).

Telia of the Denmark

Separately, Telia of Denmark this week introduce a one-size-fits-all iPhone 3G plan for its customers that will cost $128 (DKK 599) per month for the first six months and include 300 minutes, unlimited SMS messages, unlimited calls to other Telia subscribers, and 300MB of data. Apple's 8GB iPhone 3G is priced at $298 (DKK 1399) with this single-choice plan, while the 16GB model is priced at $426 (DKK 1999).

After six months, subscribers can cancel their contracts, making the minimum buy-in cost for the first six months $1064 (DKK 4993) for the 8GB iPhone and $1193 (DKK 5593) for the 16GB model.

Subscribers who wish to keep their service after the first six months will see their monthly fee reduced from $128 (DKK 599) to $85 (DKK 399).

T-Mobile has announced three distinct iPhone 3G plans for the Netherlands starting at $48 USD, meanwhile Telia of Denmark has introduce a single plan for $128 USD that will see a 33 percent reduction after the first six months.

T-Mobile of the Netherlands

Prospective iPhone 3G buyers in the Netherlands will be able to sign up for an entry level calling plan priced at $48 (29.95 euro) on July 11th that includes 150 minutes, 150 SMS messages and unlimited data. Consumers who choose this plan can purchase an 8GB iPhone for $127 (79.95 euro) or a 16GB iPhone for $254 (159.95 euro).

T-Mobile's top tier plan is priced at $103 (64.95 euro) and also offers an 8GB iPhone for $1.58 (1 euro) or a 16GB iPhone for $32 (19.95 euro). It includes 500 minutes, 500 SMS messages and unlimited data.

Each of the plans requires a 24-month contract and $83 (52.50 euro) one-time activation charge. All plans include Visual Voicemail and access to more than 1500 Wifi-hotspots. 3G data is capped at 2048/384 Kbps.

What ticks me off for buying a iPhone from T-Mobile in the Netherlands are the costs for data outside of the Netherlands. According to what I was able to find this is Euro 0,09 per 10KB. That translates to Euro 9 per 1 MB which is outragious! I really hope that the EU will put harsh regulations on these kind of operators to choke them on these kind of rip-off rates, which is killing us in this highly competitive global economy.
I am 50% of my working time outside of the Netherlands and it would financially hurt to use mobile internet outside of the Netherlands.

The high cost in Denmark is partly because it is illegal to simlock a phone for more than 6 months. Telia has to make sure to cover the subsidy within that timeframe. There is no excuse for only including 300 MBs in the plan though.

Hmm, I dont wanna sound too negative (Im a huge Apple fan), but in the end were paying 850,. Euro / $1347,. For an ipod touch with a microphone ? ''We want to make it more affordable'', well Ill wait a while I think. I could get a macbook for this amount. Not to mention I dont wanna be tied down for 2 years, but thats another story.

So the best iPHone plan goes to Holland...congrats. 2nd best goes to At&t. Everyone else is getting screwed. It's too bad that such a good product is handicapped by the stores selling them. Way to go, Telcos. That's why we all love you.

After 3 netbooks from acer, toshiba, hp, I find contentment in my 11.6 MB Air. Hoping the 8-hr battery version shows up soon.

So the best iPHone plan goes to Holland...congrats. 2nd best goes to At&t. Everyone else is getting screwed. It's too bad that such a good product is handicapped by the stores selling them. Way to go, Telcos. That's why we all love you.

I felt so too, the Dutch get the best plan.

I now feel so proud of the Netherlands, finally!!!
I'm definitely getting one July 11th, and our 2048/384 kbps own American 1.4mbit max. Har har

I can understand that they have to unlock after 6 months, so they try to get in the subsidy in that period, but two things really cancel that out as fair:
1) They are charging $300 USD for the 8GB iphone, which means it is hardly subsidized compared to Netherlands and other European countries, even acknowledging that Apple is most likely charging a very high wholesale price to carriers in Europe.

2) Even after the 6 months of being charged $120 USD, you are STILL CHARGED $80/month USD for only 300 minutes and 300 MB of data??????? The unlimited text is nice, but hardly a consolation for such a rip-off fee.

What is this carrier thinking? Are the normal fees in Denmark outrageous? I would have to assume not! I feel bad for the people in my ancestral homeland! Go Sjælland! lol

So the best iPHone plan goes to Holland...congrats. 2nd best goes to At&t. Everyone else is getting screwed. It's too bad that such a good product is handicapped by the stores selling them. Way to go, Telcos. That's why we all love you.

T-mobile announced today that they cut the 52 activation fee in half. This was done after alot of potential buyers complained about the fee. In Holland fees for activation are things from the past, no other carrier lets their customers pay these fees. This was the main reason for T-mobile to lower them.

It looks like the iPhone will show us europeans there is no such thing as a european. If we were we would pay the same price all over europe. iPods are used to compare the prices around the world seems a good thing to use the iPhone to compare the phone bills around the world.

And to Abster2core, Holland is twice the size of New Jersey. It's small, but densely populated! It's not like where nothing or something. At least we have 100% 3G coverage for years, I won't say a thing about the USA....

Or did I take it wrong? ( I understood like you where offensing Holland)

And to Abster2core, Holland is twice the size of New Jersey. It's small, but densely populated! It's not like where nothing or something. At least we have 100% 3G coverage for years, I won't say a thing about the USA....

Or did I take it wrong? ( I understood like you where offensing Holland)

I am sorry if you took it wrongly.

My two uncles, and especially my father-in-law who was part of the liberation would rise from their grave if they thought I dissed your country or countrymen.

Hmm, I dont wanna sound too negative (Im a huge Apple fan), but in the end were paying 850,. Euro / $1347,. For an ipod touch with a microphone ? ''We want to make it more affordable'', well Ill wait a while I think. I could get a macbook for this amount. Not to mention I dont wanna be tied down for 2 years, but thats another story.

You're also getting a 2 year service plan for data, a whole load of calls and a whole load of SMS's. If you cannot see that, you have to go back to school and brush up on your comprehension.

By the way, compared to it's competitors, Apple could have simply come out with this phone at 850 euros. Top of the line Blackberries sell for over 600 euros without a contract. 850 euros would have been a completely reasonable price for the iPhone considering that it smashes any Blackberry out of the water. You quote a MacBook being better value - you seem to think that is good value for 850 euros, why not the iPhone. They are comparable bits of equipment.

You're getting a 2 year service plan like described above for free basically. Stop your whinging, it's truly an excellent deal.

Quote:

Originally Posted by min_t

So the best iPHone plan goes to Holland...congrats. 2nd best goes to At&t. Everyone else is getting screwed. It's too bad that such a good product is handicapped by the stores selling them. Way to go, Telcos. That's why we all love you.

I agree, best plan goes to Holland. However, I think second best plan goes to the UK. For the minimum $70 that you have to pay in the US (450 minutes, unlimited data), in the UK you get 500 minutes, 600 texts, unlimited data, access to a truly extensive wi-fi network and only have the contract for 18 months. It could even be argued that for some people this plan is even better than in the Netherlands, because it is cheaper and better than the mid sized plan in NL. Keep in mind that for all these plans outside of North America, no one is paying for incoming calls, they are always free.

(On a side note, I heard that you guys in the US pay for incoming texts as well. If that is true, that is really insane. You can't even choose whether you want to receive them! Someone could spam you with 1000 messages and you'd have to pay a fortune! Needless to say, you also don't need to pay for receiving texts outside of North America).

I can understand that they have to unlock after 6 months, so they try to get in the subsidy in that period, but two things really cancel that out as fair:
1) They are charging $300 USD for the 8GB iphone, which means it is hardly subsidized compared to Netherlands and other European countries, even acknowledging that Apple is most likely charging a very high wholesale price to carriers in Europe.

2) Even after the 6 months of being charged $120 USD, you are STILL CHARGED $80/month USD for only 300 minutes and 300 MB of data??????? The unlimited text is nice, but hardly a consolation for such a rip-off fee.

What is this carrier thinking? Are the normal fees in Denmark outrageous? I would have to assume not! I feel bad for the people in my ancestral homeland! Go Sjælland! lol

Compared to what you get it is not an outrages plan for Denmark. Normally highclass phones cost 2500-3000 kr and the plans for the first six months are 300-500, so for many the plan price is expensive, i havent seen anything ike it before either. The data side of it sucks, though I am going to buy it through Telia, I am not going to stay, other lowcost providers offer flatrate data for 200kr a month, unlimited sms packages can be added, though i would just pay 200 + normal phone use.
There are many cell cariers in Denmark, and it is a highly competetive market, prices would look different if there were more iPhone carriers. One should also remember we have some of the highest salaries in the world, some of the highest living expenses, and we are the Happiest people in the world (according to recent reports)

Keep in mind that the prices are hard to compare at the moment with the weak dollar.
The €29,95 is comparable to a $29,95 pricetag in the US.

I was thrilled when I heard that the iPhone was coming to the Netherlands, only to be disillusioned when I heard that T-Mobile would be the carrier. In other countries T-Mobile might be up to par (I lived in Chicago, and T-Mobile was quite OK there), but in the Netherlands T-Mobile is one of the worst providers. T-Mobile is mainly used by schoolkids, mainly because of the low costs. The businesses won't touch T-Mobile with a 10-foot stick. I have tried them for 2 months and paid them to get out of the contract... many dropped calls, no reception in my house and at my work (where I spend 80% of my time)... And I live and work in downtown Amsterdam, an area where you would expect a carrier to excel.

That is why I find it odd that a company as Apple, that puts a high priority in user-experience, selected a party like T-Mobile Netherlands. This while Vodafone is the partner of choice in other countries, and one of the number-1 carriers in The Netherlands.

Keep in mind that the prices are hard to compare at the moment with the weak dollar.
The 29,95 is comparable to a $29,95 pricetag in the US.

I was thrilled when I heard that the iPhone was coming to the Netherlands, only to be disillusioned when I heard that T-Mobile would be the carrier. In other countries T-Mobile might be up to par (I lived in Chicago, and T-Mobile was quite OK there), but in the Netherlands T-Mobile is one of the worst providers. T-Mobile is mainly used by schoolkids, mainly because of the low costs. The businesses won't touch T-Mobile with a 10-foot stick. I have tried them for 2 months and paid them to get out of the contract... many dropped calls, no reception in my house and at my work (where I spend 80% of my time)... And I live and work in downtown Amsterdam, an area where you would expect a carrier to excel.

That is why I find it odd that a company as Apple, that puts a high priority in user-experience, selected a party like T-Mobile Netherlands. This while Vodafone is the partner of choice in other countries, and one of the number-1 carriers in The Netherlands.

Well, T-Mobile network did get better with them taking over the Orange network in the Netherlands. Where I used to have low signal in my home, I now have full signal. It is still not the best, but it certainly is better than it used to be one year ago. HSDPA coverage has also improved in the last year, but still weak 3G next to KPN and Vodafone. Yes, cheap comes at a price.

I can understand that they have to unlock after 6 months, so they try to get in the subsidy in that period, but two things really cancel that out as fair:
1) They are charging $300 USD for the 8GB iphone, which means it is hardly subsidized compared to Netherlands and other European countries, even acknowledging that Apple is most likely charging a very high wholesale price to carriers in Europe.

2) Even after the 6 months of being charged $120 USD, you are STILL CHARGED $80/month USD for only 300 minutes and 300 MB of data??????? The unlimited text is nice, but hardly a consolation for such a rip-off fee.

What is this carrier thinking? Are the normal fees in Denmark outrageous? I would have to assume not! I feel bad for the people in my ancestral homeland! Go Sjælland! lol

Actually, believe it or not, Denmark and Finland have the cheapest mobile prices. Yes this plan is crazy. Telia's HSPDA coverage really sucks in comparision to 3 and TDC/Vodafone, and the speed is max. 3,6 Mbit (probably only in Copenhagen)

Actually, it's even better then you think, because the activation fee is reduced with 50%, so no 52,50 euros, but just 26,25 euros.!!! It's good to be Dutch

Before I read this, I wasn't even aware that there was an activation fee at all, and I could still not have been aware of it when entering the T-Mobile store next week if I hadn't read this.

It's extremely irritating when you enter a phone store thinking you only have to pay 1 euro for the phone and 45 euro every month, and then find out standing right in front of the sales assistant with an iPhone in your hand, that you have to pay 26 euro extra if you really want to get through.

I * was * surprised by the attractiveness of the Dutch plans, and I still am as a matter of fact, but this kind of sneaky constructions make T-Mobile and their iPhone feel a lot worse than they did.

The same holds for the sneaky outrageous prices for data roaming.

I've been a reasonably happy T-Mobile customer for years (good price and almost never any technical problems anywhere), but my experience is that you have to be really alert, which means that you have to check your accounts very carefully every month, and see if you don't pay for things you don't want and still have their most advantageous offering. "Het venijn zit in de details".

What I *do* like though, is the royal amount of SMS messages you get, because I already was a heavy texter, but with the iPhone I'm going to SMS like there's no tomorrow.

You have no reason to complain. Even on the cheapest plan, you are getting the phone itself for for less than any other country on their base plan, and almost half of what Steve Jobs announced to the world at the WWDC.

You have no reason to complain. Even on the cheapest plan, you are getting the phone itself for for less than any other country on their base plan, and almost half of what Steve Jobs announced to the world at the WWDC.

Sure, in the end I think it's a very good deal.
I was only complaining about the sneaky way this activation fee went. Not just T-Mobile but so many others as well. I hate pricing tricks being played on me.

Yeah.. the iPhone plan/contract here in the netherlands is very sweet.
But i am allready a T-Mobile customer, and i CAN'T upgrade to an iPhone, and some other telco's do/did offer an iPhone upgrade deal for their own customers. and that plain sucks!\

I hope T-Mobile NL changes it's mind about their own customers, for the time being... i'm stuck with my blackberry till 2010.

(On a side note, I heard that you guys in the US pay for incoming texts as well. If that is true, that is really insane. You can't even choose whether you want to receive them! Someone could spam you with 1000 messages and you'd have to pay a fortune! Needless to say, you also don't need to pay for receiving texts outside of North America).

Rogers (Canada) does not charge for incoming text messages.

In fact, it looks as if you don't have to subscribe to a Data Plan:

"Data Usage Your iPhone will be enabled for data usage. If you subscribe to a plan with no data included, data charges at a pay-per-use rate of 5¢/KB for data sent and/or received over the Rogers network will apply, unless you subscribe to a data plan, which we highly recommend." javascript:void%20srPopup('/cms/html/iphone_terms.shtml','','width=400,height=400,scrol lbars=1,resizable=1');